Leadership Theory Overview - Transformational Leadership
Leadership Theory Overview: Part I, Transformational Leadership
Have you ever found yourself nodding your head, pretending to know what someone was talking about as they referred to terms like transformational, agile, or servant leadership? Then you have come to the right place. In this series of articles, I aim to provide a very brief overview of some of the most common and influential theories within leadership. First up: Transformational Leadership.
In the beginning…
There is a great reason for us to start with Transformational Leadership theory, as it has the strongest scientific support at the present time. More of this later, but first, let us take a quick look at some historical milestones of leadership research. Please note that the below timeline is a crude reflection of reality; the boxes do not in any way indicate a “birth-to-end” representation of a theory or group of theories, they might have existed earlier in conceptual or embryonic forms or reached peaks in influence and differentiation from other leadership theories later than indicated here.
Trait Theory – by the start of the 20th century, there was a strong perception that leadership derived from innate strengths and qualities. Traits such as grit, nobility, stamina, and the like. There were problems with this idea however, not least that such qualities were usually associated with being born into a privileged group of people that held power in society. In addition, leaders could share many of the same desired traits, yet behave very differently and achieve very different outcomes. Trait theory focused too much on who a person was, and not enough on what they actually did. It paved the way for…
Behavioral Style Theory – by the 1950s, as the ideas of behaviorism had gained in strength in society, focus in leadership also started to shift from traits towards behaviors. Some benefits of this perspective were: that unlike traits, behaviours could be observed directly, and could also be taught. The Task/People dyad was a noteworthy concept that you might recognise from this era.
Transactional Leadership – developed at the same time. In essence, a ‘quid pro quo’ theory of leadership. Leaders motivated followers by rewarding desired behaviours with contingent rewards such as salaries and bonuses, and punishing undesired ones through management-by-exception such as formal warnings. This theory gets a bit of a bad rep, but is actually a style of leadership that, when delivered consistently, justly, and with regard to the needs of the employees, works well in getting followers to reach expected performance targets. More on this later!
Contingency Leadership Theory – emerging in the 70s, the notion arose that there is basically no one best way to lead across situations. Instead, the effectiveness of leadership behaviours are dependent (contingent) on followers and context and the leader must adapt to that. One example of CL that is still often referred to today is Situational Leadership (the terms Contingency- and Situational Leadership are often used interchangeably), that proposes that effective leadership comes from matching leader behaviours to situations and follower’s competence and commitment. This intuitively makes sense, but the benefits have been somewhat hard to verify scientifically.
Moral & Value-based Leadership – by the latter half of the 20th century, marked by an era of war, civil unrest and a fight for equal rights, focus increased on the importance of morality and values within leadership. There are several schools of theory that can be attributed to this category, such as Servant Leadership, Authentic Leadership and Ethical Leadership. Some common themes include the importance of morals and values, authenticity, working to support the development and growth of followers and the larger community, putting others’ needs before oneself, and acting fairly and sustainably. More of this in coming articles!
Transformational Leadership
As mentioned earlier, leaders could do well in getting followers to reach expected performance targets by applying transactional leadership behaviors. You do your work, and you get rewarded for it; you do not, and you face negative consequences. But some leaders seemed to be able to do more than that. Some prominent historical leaders, like Martin Luther King Jr., Winston Churchill, and Mahatma Ghandi, got people not only to follow them, but to go above and beyond expectations. What was happening here?
The key differentiator seemed to relate to the leader’s ability to connect to the followers on a psychological level. While transactional leadership is largely just that - a rational transaction – transformational leadership adds an emotional dimension. Transformational leaders believe in their followers; they inspire, empower, and stimulate them to become their very best selves. By doing so, follower focus shifts from immediate self-interest to wanting to achieve something of higher importance. At the same time, the followers are challenged and encouraged as individuals to grow and become more than they themselves might have believed they could be.
Early on, transformational, and transactional leadership, were seen as mutually exclusive styles, but this view has since been adjusted. In fact, effective transformational leadership is built upon a foundation of components of transactional leadership (the contingent-reward part mainly), an exchange relationship with well-defined roles and expectations. Beyond that, TL is characterised by four key types of behaviours - the 4 I’s:
Idealised Influence – the leader acts as a role model, earning the trust and confidence of followers through proven benevolence, competency, honesty and authenticity. This relates to performance but also morals. It is important that words and actions are congruous.
Inspirational Motivation – the leader develops and articulates a clear and compelling vision. They communicate that the status quo is not acceptable and there is a need to move towards a desired future state. The leader raises expectations and frames the organisation’s purpose as meaningful giving context around the need to change.
Intellectual Stimulation – the leader encourages followers to explore new ways of doing things and create something that has not been there before. They challenge beliefs and assumptions and invite followers to try for more and to exceed their own expectations of what they can achieve.
Individualised Consideration – the leader works to understand the needs and feelings of their followers and helps them to grow. Listening is key! They aim to learn an individual’s motivations, skills, and passions, connects them to the goals and help to remove obstacles. This approach encourages and helps people feel liked, competent, and autonomous.
Even if you are not previously familiar with transformational leadership, you probably recognise elements, or perhaps even most of these behaviours from other schools of thought. It is important to remember that leadership theories do not appear out of thin air; they are influenced by historical and contemporary theories, ideas and events, and they in turn influence others. Many of the behaviours listed here are also important in being an inclusive, ethical, or authentic leader for example.
What does the science say?
The positive effects of transformational leadership are well documented. Numerous studies have shown that Transformational Leadership is positively correlated with, among other things:
work performance
levels of motivation
satisfaction with the leader
Furthermore, when the effects of transformational leadership are compared to effects of other styles of leadership, TL most often comes out favourably or equally good. It has also been shown that transformational skills can be successfully taught to leaders, with subsequent positive effects for the organisation.
In essence: when considering a theoretical framework to use, whether for leadership recruitment or development purposes, transformational leadership is a good place to start.
Did you know that Alumni, in addition to being one of the top Executive Search, Interim and Recruitment firms in the Nordic market, are also experts in the field of Leadership Assessment and Development? Victor Reis is an Occupational Psychologist with extensive experience of leadership and talent management, and is happy to help if you are looking for ways to select and grow the leaders that will boost the success of your organisation.
Senior Consultant and Chartered Occupational Psychologist
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Perspectives
Leadership Theory Overview: Part II, Servant Leadership
Perspectives
Leadership Theory Overview: Part III, Sustainable Leadership
Perspectives
Leadership Theory Overview: Part IV, Transactional Leadership